In Anoka-Hennepin School District, conservative Christian parents ask teachers to teach about the "ex-homosexual" movement and "gay-related immune deficiency". They would like the policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is not applied thinking it would open the schools to pro-homosexual teaching, so they want discriminations towards LGBTs continue.

Brian Lindquist and Mike Skaalerud, representatives of this group, require the following things and you will see it is...I don't even know how to qualify this...full of disgusting bigotry and bullshit:

1. A new division within the student support services and a special section on the District 11 website devoted to student of fiath, moral conviction, ex-homosexuals and ex-transgenders.

2. A listening tour by Superintendent Denny Carlson and district prevention coordinator Barry Scanlon with students of faith, moral conviction, ex-homosexuals, and ex-transgenders.

3. That District 11 administrators and staff work closely with pro-family and ex-homosexual and ex-transgender organizations to provide ongoing training to school counselors, school nurses, social workers, school psychologists, prevention specialists, student learning advocates and a number of secondary principals and principals.

4. Provide professional development opportunities in which philosophical, pedogogical, and political assumptions of GLBT advocacy are critically examined.

6. Provide training on bullying and suicide that protects all students.

7. Provide the history of gay-related immune deficiencies and acquired immune deficiencies and the medical consequences of homosexual acts.

8. That all health classes that address homosexuality be required to provide up-to-date information from the CDC on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV among the groups the CDC designates as men who have sex with men.

9. Provide the following pro-family, ex-homosexual, ex-transgender information and websites to all counselors, school psychologists classroom teachers [the list was submitted to the board and not spoken at the meeting]

According to Daily Planet, Tiffany Strabala, a parent, blasted the Anoka Hennepin teachers union head Julie Blaha for saying that students are not "controversial issues" and that identities should not the subject of policies like the neutrality policy.

"The idea that same-sex attraction and volitional same sex acts constitute an identity that should be valued is a subjective and arguable belief it is not a fact," she said. "It is an outrage to me that a govt employee paid for by the taxes of people who don’t share her moral propositions believes that she has a right in her professional role to express her opinions about identity."

She added: "Will Miss Blaha argue, as most progressives do, that expressing the belief that volitional homosexual acts are not moral and makes kids unsafe, must be prohibited.

Liberal teachers want to affirm homosexual students in their identity but don’t feel a similar desire to affirm the religious identity of students from conservative faith traditions."

A new Republican senator has decided to support gay marriage in Washington. Senator Cheryl Pflug joins Senator Steve Litzow.

Pflug already supported LGBT rights in the past in particular as a voter for domestic-partnership benefits and she says she is a "longtime supporter of human equality".

"I do not feel diminished by having another human being experience the same freedom I am entitled to exercise. I would feel diminished by denying another human the ability to exercise those same rights and freedoms."

Let's continue to cross our fingers to have more Republican senators supporting marriage equality because it would seem the state House will pass the law but that will be complicated in the Senate.

]]>info@lezbelib.com (E-Li)News From The United-StatesMon, 16 Jan 2012 18:35:49 +0000Will Washington Become The Next State To Legalize Gay Marriage?https://www.lezbelib.com/us-news/will-washington-become-the-next-state-to-legalize-gay-marriage
https://www.lezbelib.com/us-news/will-washington-become-the-next-state-to-legalize-gay-marriage

It is the current question whereas Governor Chris Gregoire until now, as reports The Seattle Times, has supported giving gay and lesbian partners the same rights that married couples have today, but has never endorsed same-sex marriage publicly but it would seem that she could support it during a session next week according to sources.

The support of the governor would be "incredibly important for the campaign," Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage which is a coalition a groups supporting marriage equality, said. "It provides momentum for the campaign and helps us make the case to other public officials how important it is to back this piece of legislation."

Indeed, except some conservative Democrats who could be opposed to the gay marriage law, we realize marriage could pass because the Senate is mainly Democrats like the State House.

A new law to protect youth against bullying based on their sexual orientation and their gender identity was passed by West Virginia Board of Education.

From now on, the "acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying that are reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics, shall be reported using the following list: race; color; religion; ancestry; national origin; gender; socioeconomic status; academic status; gender identity or expression; physical appearance; sexual orientation; mental/physical/developmental/ sensory disability; or other characteristic."

As I continue to think about myself and my gender, there are certain questions which sprawl through my mind. I often find myself quoting in my head Romeo and Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / by any other name would smell as sweet” (Shakespeare II. ii. 47-48). These lines are important to remember, meaning that no matter what the name, the make up of the individual remains the same. Names are assigned, only a signifier of the person you are. So why am I discussing names?

Because since I have admitted to myself that I am trans, I need another name. How do you go about choosing another name though? Names are given, not necessarily chosen by the individuals who carry them. Even people who have nicknames receive them from friends or family. In every instance of naming, the thought is toward identity. That is why a name is so important. And to change a name, that is to welcome change itself. In this case, the new name represents the new life in a different gender.

There are many ways to go about choosing a name as a trans individual. Some people ask their parents: what would you have named me if I was a boy? In my case, the answer was Joshua Jacob, my mom going on to say my nickname would have been JJ. Others decide to maintain their current initials, or use a variable on their own name, such as Maria becoming Mario. So there are many different ways to choose a name.

The important thing becomes the identity to go with that name. The name is not only a word, it is a symbol: of transformation and of acceptance. It is the acknowledgement of being ready for transition, a first step.

I’m torn in what I will do about a name. I’m torn between a name of my own choosing and the one my mom proposed, perhaps a combination. It’s something to think about. What are the stories behind your names or nicknames?

Just because more states are starting to allow Gay marriage, it doesn't mean you should just rush right into things. There are more things to consider than just whether or not your new spouse will love you 'til death do us part.

Now instead of just tossing your crap out on the front lawn, you have to worry about your new spouse getting mad and chopping off your jewels.

This is not a question but a letter of celebration. Last year after my wife and domestic partner of 20 some years died, I was blank and heart broken. I literally did not know what to do with myself. I pursued healing through support groups where I eventually met my new love. She is almost 20 years younger. Never could I have imagined that such love and passion could be resurrected out of such despair. I wasn’t expecting it but we fell in love and now live together.

I am amazed mostly about how every day, each relationship milestone becomes a new layer revealing new meanings of love. Not all good or perfect, but satisfying, and quickly evolving to deeper layers. Things I never thought about or simply took for granted in my old relationship are like revelations. It makes me feel both young again and a little insecure. Which makes me vulnerable, which makes my girlfriend love me more. Or so she says. Mainly I want to let your middle aged readers know that young love blooms when you least expect it.

Dear Unexpected,

Congratulations on your new love and your ability to adjust your shifting emotional perspectives. We are constantly defining and refining ourselves until the day we die. Love changes everything and is one of the best catalysts for learning and growing in the universe. But love, like tea, needs time to steep. The familiarity and acceptance you found in your previous marriage are the joys and rewards of love that withstands the test of time, like burnished gold or fine wine. A vintner friend recently told us how wine goes through many levels, depths, and layers while it is aging as well. After it is bottled, it may show promise at the beginning but if you were to open the same vintage and taste it at various times it would taste differently at all the various stages. It might not taste as good at six months and after another 6 months hints of perfection becomes apparent. Not only does the wine itself transmute or evolve but the taster does as well. Not only does the lover change and grow, but the belove(d) does likewise. Cheers to you and your new lover. Viva Sweet Love

Linda Perry and Sara Gilbert are in couple! They were seen in Hollywood holding hands.

Sara Gilbert, the former "Roseanne" star and "The Talk" co-host, was holding hands with singer Linda Perry this weekend according to TMZ.

A few months after her separation with Ali Adler, with whom she had a relationship during 10 years, Sara found a new lover, Linda Perry, whom one had not seen a lot in couple since she broke up with the actress Clementine Ford (Molly in The L Word).

Sara and Linda did not confirm this relationship but how to deny it after this weekend.

]]>info@lezbelib.com (E-Li)Life,Sex & RelationshipsWed, 30 Nov 2011 02:07:03 +0000Listen Born This Way The Country Version By Lady Gagahttps://www.lezbelib.com/music/listen-born-this-way-the-country-version-by-lady-gaga
https://www.lezbelib.com/music/listen-born-this-way-the-country-version-by-lady-gaga

Lady Gaga presented the new version of Born This Way and it's sound country ! A part of the benefits earned from sales will go to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

According to the Web site of the organization, the money will be used "to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression."

We don't know yet if a video clip will be made for this country version even if Lady Gaga said, when she released Born This Way video, that the song will have two clips.

If you like Pretty Little Liars, good news! ABC announced that the series has been renewed for a 5th season. We will be able to thus follow Emily, Paige, Hanna, Spencer and Aria in two more seasons (a 4th and a 5th). The creators of the show also said that a spin-off Ravenswood will be also aired.

We could also enjoy to watch a special Halloween episode in October.

"Pretty Little Liarsis brand-defining and demo-defining for ABC Family. We are proud to be able to grow the PLL franchise in two ways -- both by adding additional seasons of the original and by extending the storytelling into a spin-off. Ravenswood will become another must-tweet-TV series for us," ABC Family President Michael Riley said in a statement.